The Family You Choose
by Rianya
Summary: I had a dream last night that spawned yet another Alternate Ending. Hope you guys like it.
1. The Family You Choose

Marie shivered – it was really cold. Had the furnace gone out? Why couldn't the building manager just do his damn job? Her eyes blinked open – was that moisture on her face? What the hell was going on?! She took a deep breath, coming more fully awake. Salt water? Why would she smell the ocean? And were those stars overhead?

She sat up and looked around her – now that she was awake she could feel the motion of the boat she was on. Just the most gentle of swaying as it was clearly moored to a dock, but she was on a boat! She pulled her blankets more tightly around her as she stood, her toes curling against the cold of the deck. How on earth had she gotten here?

"Don't move! I've already called the cops!" A masculine voice came from the darkness of an opening in the cabin on the deck before her. Marie obediently froze. Moonlight glinted off the barrel of a handgun as the man stepped from the opening.

He was tall and lean with dark hair and a fuzz of a dark beard under his chin. Marie blinked as the moonlight etched out a familiar face with a high forehead, dark eyes and a strong chin.

"Duke?" She asked in disbelief. "Duke Crocker?"

"Who are you, kid? What are you doing on my boat in the middle of the night and how do you know my name?"

"Kid?!" Marie looked down at the hands clutching the blankets around her. "Kid?!" Her voice rose.

Duke set his gun down on a stack of boxes next to the cabin door and went to the young girl he saw on his deck. Her skin was very fair, almost glowing in the moonlight and her hair was definitely red but the misty moonlight wasn't enough to settle it as to one particular shade.

"Marie? Marie Bauer?" He asked incredulously. "No, you must be her daughter."

"No, I never had any children." She said automatically, still staring dazedly at the slender body that shivered under the blankets. She slept in the nude and it was cold on the water, blankets or no blankets.

"Come inside." Duke finally offered, giving her a gentle push on the shoulders. "We'll figure it out."

"God I could use a drink right now." Marie said, mostly to herself, as she entered his main living quarters, trailing her blankets behind her.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen." Duke told her with a small smile.

"I guess I would have been worried if you were willing to give alcohol to a kid. How old do I look to you?"

"Ten, maybe twelve at the most."

"I am _not_ going through puberty again." Maria said with a valiant attempt at conviction but it fell sadly flat.

"Tell me what happened while I make us some cocoa." Duke suggested.

"Well, I got fired from my job today. Came home, drank half a bottle of wine to console myself, sent off some applications over the internet and went to bed. And then I woke up here on the deck of – I suppose this is your boat?"

"Yeah, the Rouge is mine. What happened to you after my mom claimed me from the Lawsons? I worried about you but by the time I could get back in the area you were gone."

"I ran away. I wasn't going to let that bastard touch me again." Marie said soberly.

"You couldn't have been much older than you appear right now – how did you survive?"

"I hooked up with someone who got me to Boston where I got into a bit of trouble. Ended up in Juvie until I was 18. When I got out I hitched to California. Decided to be a movie star." A self depreciating smile touched her lips. "When that didn't pan out I got lucky. I got hired to be a receptionist for small special effects company. Didn't have the first clue what I was doing but the owner let me learn on the job. Eventually he helped me get some training and certification. I ended up as a paralegal. Unfortunately, I also ended up working for the slimiest scumbag in California."

Duke had glossed over his own childhood enough to recognize huge events that Marie wasn't sharing with him. He didn't press her, though. He knew she'd tell him when and if she wanted to and not before.

"And you? I worried about you too."

"I survived." He said bleakly. Marie nodded, understanding the wealth of pain behind that brief answer. Duke handed her a mug of cocoa and she shifted her grip on the blankets to free one hand for it. It went a long way towards warming the cold inside her but there was an icy core of fear that not even hot chocolate could touch.

"This is a trouble, isn't it, Duke?" Marie said after a brief silence between the two of them. "Like those stories you told me when you were at the Lawson's."

"Yeah and it's probably one of mine." Duke admitted trying to remember when he could have released it.

" _One_ of yours? I thought a person could only have one trouble."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too but it turns out Crockers are special. We have a whole bunch of them. And if I bleed and it touches the ground one of them gets loose."

"So, you got a nosebleed or something like that in your sleep and poofed me into my twelve year old body and onto your boat on the other side of the country?" Marie asked him. Even living through it this was hard to swallow. "What trouble was that?"

"I don't know." Duke admitted. "But I was dreaming about the Lawsons. I was thinking of you. And here you are."

"Well, I've got nothing to return to in California but I'm not staying twelve years old. Un-youthenize me."

"It's not that easy. I'm not really in control of this."

"Okay, Duke, start talking. I told you more about my shitty childhood than "I survived" but I'm not pushing you. You can tell me all about that or not. But you owe me a full explanation of this." She shot a speaking look down at her greatly reduced body.

Duke sighed with frustration, running one hand through his hair which was short on the sides and longer across the top. Marie smiled into her cocoa, enjoying the play of muscles on his bare torso. Apparently Duke slept in nothing more than a pair of comfortable yoga pants and had grown into a fine specimen of manhood.

"The Crocker Curse –" he began slowly but Marie cut him short.

"By "curse" you mean "trouble", right?" She clarified.

"Some troubles are worse than others – the Crockers are cursed, in my opinion. See, when we kill a troubled person we end their trouble forever. No one else in their family will ever get it."

"Oh my." Marie breathed, seeing the implications immediately.

"We also get a rush if we come in contact with troubled blood. It's like – it's like a spike of euphoria and many of the Crocker men have gotten addicted to it."

"Not you, though." Marie said without hesitation.

"No. I hate it, although the strength that comes with it has been useful from time to time."

"So, you get high and you get strong when you touch this troubled blood?"

"And my eyes turn silver."

"Wow, that must be an interesting sight. But none of this explains my youthful presence here." Marie honed in on the crux of this confession.

"This is where it gets a bit complicated. Someone activated the curse in my brother, Wade, and he got addicted. I had to kill him to protect someone I cared about very much."

"So you ended your own trouble."

"Yeah."

"And yet you're troubled."

"Yeah. Something happened and my trouble was needed again. So I got re-troubled. But it changed when she re-troubled me. Now every trouble my family has ended is active in me. I should have exploded from them all but instead if I bleed on the ground I release a trouble and some of the pressure. Then I have to work through the emotion that is connected with the trouble and deactivate it again."

"On one hand that sounds pretty horrible. On the other hand you might just wind up being the most well adjusted male in the history of humans."

A snort of laughter escaped Duke at Marie's unique blend of sympathy and pragmatism. It was one of the things that had drawn the two of them together in the Lawson's foster home. Marie was a couple of years older than he was and she had taken him under her wing like a born mother but her care was always combined with a certain ruthless practicality. The things she managed to teach him before his mother came to collect him had done a lot to help him survive his mother's neglect. And his determined protection had kept "Papa" Lawson from bothering Marie – at least until his mother had removed him.

"So," Marie interrupted his introspection. "Why me? I'm guessing that my youthenization is because this is how you remember me but why bring me here at all?"

"Mara said that releasing a trouble and its result involved intent. I can't think of anything I want more than to fix me once and for all. I never want to kill another person, Marie, and I never want to hurt someone with a trouble either."

Marie put down her drink and took Duke's hand in an instinctive gesture of comfort but touching him made her gasp and clutch his hand convulsively. His thoughts and feelings crashed over her. Her hand flew back and tears filled her eyes as she absorbed the strength of Duke's self-loathing.

"What?" Duke asked her in confusion. "What happened?"

"Duke, it's _not_ your fault."

"What are you talking about?"

Instead of answering Marie held out her hand to him. With some hesitation he took it. This time she was prepared for the onslaught of emotions. She rode the tide until it subsided to background noise and then she "listened" to the underlying thoughts: thoughts of desperation to be cured, thoughts of loss, thoughts of failure and an overwhelming sensation of isolation. And thoughts of the woman sleeping in a cot in the hold beneath them, chained to pipes running by her bed.

"Duke," she said quietly, releasing his hand. "Why can I hear you in my head?"

Duke's eyes widened and then they widened further when she added; "And who is the woman in the hold?"

"You're troubled?" He asked her.

"How would I know? I was abandoned at Haven Memorial as a baby. They never knew who dropped me off."

"Will you help me?"

"Do you really need to ask?" The smile on her face convinced Duke once and for all that this child was really his childhood friend. No twelve year old had the life experience to create that blend of acceptance, agreement and concern.

"Come with me."

"Maybe I should get dressed first?" Marie suggested wryly.

"Your pajamas are fine."

Marie just smiled at him, waiting for understanding to dawn. She laughed out loud when he blushed.

"I have a few things left from a friend of mine." He told her and she didn't need to touch him to read the pain in those words. "She was just a tiny thing – you could fit her things well enough."

"I'm sorry, Duke." She told him – and he knew she felt his pain.

"She died." He said gruffly, trying to hide the tears rising. "She'd have shared with you, though."

"I wish I had met her." Marie told Duke, following him at a trot as he hurried through a door off of his main room. He rummaged through a dresser fixed to the wall of the bedroom and finally pulled out a pair of black leggings and a black t-shirt that wouldn't be too large on Marie's smaller frame. Then he left the room so Marie could dress.

When she emerged, shirt down to her thighs and leggings rolled up at the bottom, Duke led her to a hatch and down something that was a combination of stairs and ladder. Then he took her down a hallway that divided the lower level of the boat to a hatch at the very end, separating off the stern. In that room the woman Duke had been thinking of rolled over sleepily.

"Not in the mood right now, bucko." She told him grumpily before she noticed Marie standing slightly behind him. The woman made Marie feel uneasy. There was a malice radiating off of her that Marie had felt only a few times in her life, and always from someone who was going to hurt her and smile while doing so.

"Mara, be nice. This is Marie and she wanted to meet you." Duke said.

"Hello." Marie said hesitantly, but she held out her hand for the blond woman to shake. Mara glared at her and pointedly folded her hands in her lap.

"Now that's just rude." Duke said with an easy grin that didn't hide his frustration from Marie. "You afraid to be nice to a little girl?"

Marie watched Mara closely as Mara pasted on a patently false smile and held out her hand to shake.

"Hello, annoying little girl, why are you bothering me?" She said in a syrupy sweet voice.

"Hello, Mara." Marie took the proffered hand with definite trepidation and barely managed to turn the urge to jerk away into a shudder. "Why do you want to hurt my friend, Duke?" She asked, pulling her hand free and moving halfway behind Duke.

"I don't." Mara said but Marie heard her displeasure as she continued. "Duke, she's just a kid. Whatever she thinks I'm thinking, she's misinterpreting it. I just want to fix you."

Duke put his hands on Marie's shoulders and urged her out the hatch.

"Don't kid yourself, Duke, you and I are in this together!" She called as they left the room.

When they were both safely upstairs Duke silently handed Marie the blankets she'd arrived in and she wrapped them around herself and sat down on the leather sofa along one wall.

"Did you actually sense that she wants to hurt me or were you guessing?" He asked, pacing the room rather than joining Marie.

Marie's perception seemed to be growing because she could tell that Duke really hoped she was guessing. He really wanted Mara to want to help him and Marie hesitated, knowing her answer was going to add to the load of bruises on his heart. He read the answer on her face and cursed quietly.

"She wants to change you into something that can explode troubles on a population." Marie said quietly. "She's been manipulating you. She's also been trying to make you feel more isolated than your normally cynical self usually is."

"I knew it." Duke hissed through his teeth.

"Duke, what's going on?" Marie asked again.

"There's a CDC doctor here and someone has a trouble that's making the troubled sick and then activating their troubles." Duke explained, finally sitting on the sofa with a defeated slump to his shoulders.

"You brought me here for a reason." Marie reasoned. "And I don't know if I was troubled to begin with or…"

"I have to have troubled you." Duke told her. "You wouldn't be able to affect Mara if I hadn't."

"So there's going to probably be a drawback to this." Marie agreed. "And that's okay, brother bear, because I owe my little brother for watching over me when I slept."

"I didn't do anything that makes it okay that I troubled you."

"Duke, if you had asked me I would have said "yes" – just like you did when you agreed to be re-troubled. You aren't the only person who cares. If you decide to keep wallowing in guilt I'm going to find some shoes and then kick you in the shins." She warned him sternly, although the half-smile on Duke's face made it clear that it was pretty hard to take a 12 year old seriously.

"I think I need to meet this CDC doctor." Marie said slowly. "It'll be light soon so why don't we get your prisoner fed and get out of here. And Duke?"

He turned and looked at her.

"Don't go down there without me. She's sly and she's really, really good at manipulation."

"Pinkie swear." He promised her with a smile and she smiled back.

While he prepared oatmeal for his involuntary guest Marie made her way to his lavatory and straightened her long, dark copper hair. She braided it and found an elastic band to fasten the braid with. Convinced she was as presentable as she could be she rejoined Duke as he put the tray together. When that was set up he filled a plastic gallon jug with warm water and threw a clean washcloth and hand towel over his shoulder. Marie took the jug without saying a word.

"She's going to take a sponge bath – she's fanatical about cleanliness – and then she'll change into fresh clothing. That's already down there. Then I'll move her restraints to the chair." Duke told Marie as they headed to the hold.

"This ought to be entertaining." Marie noted.

Duke's cheeks heated slightly. He knew that she knew that Mara turned these moments into a low-key seduction. He hoped Marie didn't know how much he wanted that seduction to eventually bear fruit but she did. Marie found herself hoping this mental ability was only this strong with Duke but she feared that the slow increase of the range and strength were the drawback that Duke had told her about back when they were kids together.

"I see you brought the brat back with you." Mara noted when they entered the room. Marie looked at her silently, easily picking up on Mara's unease with her presence. Marie was an obstacle to Mara's plan and she knew it.

"So, is she yours?" Mara probed. "That would be interesting, wouldn't it? Mind reading, or is it just empathy? _and_ the Crocker curse. I'd pay money to see that all in one package."

Duke set the tray on a stack of wooden boxes by the door and picked up a large metal bowl from the next stack over. Silently he handed Mara the towel and washcloth, poured the water into the bowl and handed her a bar of soap. Mara frowned as she stripped off her clothes and quickly cleaned herself. Under Marie's silent gaze she engaged in none of the mannerisms she'd employed before. Duke handed her clean garments and she quickly dressed and submitted to being restrained to the chair.

"Oatmeal?" She demanded when she saw the tray. "Seriously?" Duke shrugged.

"Eat up, I'm taking the tray in just a minute." He said briefly, gathering up the dirty clothes, emptying the bowl down a drain by the back wall and wiping it down and grabbing the plastic jug. Marie stood quietly by the door as Duke carried the various items back up, watching Mara eat.

"Quit staring at me, kid." Mara snapped. "You're making me lose my appetite.

Marie smiled impishly at that.

"When I get out of here I'm going to give you a trouble that will melt your face off." Mara snarled, shoving the tray away from her. Everything fell onto the deck making a huge mess. Marie didn't move.

"Well don't just stand there. Clean it up. Make your daddy happy."

Marie's smile grew broader. She knew Mara was trying to tempt her closer.

"You look like a moron grinning like that." Mara sulked.

Duke walked in and sighed at the mess.

"Too bad about the coffee," he told Mara casually, "I used that cinnamon vanilla creamer you like so much."

He cleaned up the mess with towel and washcloth that he hadn't brought up and then gathered the dishes back on the tray.

"See you around lunchtime." He said as they left.

"Well don't bring that whey-faced brat with you when you do!" Mara shouted through the door.

"She doesn't like me." Marie noticed, the smile still on her lips.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Duke asked, trying (and failing) to repress a grin of his own.

"I might be a little prejudiced against anyone who tries to mess with my little brother." Marie told him.

Duke put the dishes down on his table and suddenly swept Marie into his arms for a fierce hug.

"I've missed you so much, Marie."

She returned the hug just as fiercely.

"Me too, Duke. I wish I'd looked you up years ago. I've always wondered…"

Duke set her back down.

"All right, enough of this sentimental garbage. Let's head to the hospital first. I'll text Nathan when we get there and ask him to bring Dwight with him."

"Sounds like a plan. We'll work this out, Duke."

"Siblings forever?" Duke asked rhetorically as they climbed into his mustard yellow jeep.

"We shared blood." She grinned at him, looking down at the fine white scar on her left wrist, twin to the one on his right wrist.


	2. Fixer Upper

The sun had completely made its way over the horizon by the time they reached Haven Memorial. Marie stumbled and halted as soon as they entered the building, assaulted by a chaotic wave of fear and misery.

"Marie? Do we need to leave?" Duke swept her off of her feet and held her in his arms, ready to move in any direction.

"Just a lot at once." She muttered, pressing the heel of one hand against her temple. "Give me a sec."

She thought fiercely of a viewing window, like the windows in an aquarium that let visitors see the sharks and dolphins swimming around; a shield that would let her "look" at the emotions around her without them touching her. The thought was followed by an immediate relief from the insistent emotions and Marie heaved a sigh of relief. She could still feel, but it was removed just enough to allow her to continue to function.

"I've got a shield of sorts now – but we need to go someplace. Put me down."

Neither of them noticed the fascination of the person behind the help desk as Marie took Duke's hand and led him through the hallways of the hospital. It didn't take Duke long to figure out that they were headed to the morgue and after that he led the way.

They entered the morgue to find Pete Pelek twitching in the midst of a nightmare on the spare gurney where he'd finally collapsed in total exhaustion. Marie touched his hand, startling him awake.

"What?! What?!" He gasped.

"Hey, I'm Marie. It's going to be okay." She said softly. She kept her satisfaction carefully contained when he reacted to her presence with nothing more than confusion. Behind her back she motioned Duke to move back further and sensed him correctly interpreting her instruction.

"It's not going to be okay." Pete moaned. "They're going to find out about the troubles and we're all going to be rounded up and shoved into cages."

"No, I'm not going to let that happen." Marie tried something new now. She _pushed_ calm and serenity at him and felt him relaxing.

"That's odd…" he said to himself, "usually I hate kids."

"I think you need to come with us." Marie said, acting on instinct.

"But, I need to…"

"She can handle it – right?" Marie looked at the slender blond woman in a lab coat who had just left the small office in one corner. The woman looked relieved at the thought of Pete leaving.

"Yeah, sure, I've got it. I'll just call Gloria if anything comes up. You go get some rest, Pete." She urged them.

"Come on, Pete, we're going for a walk." Marie took his hand and began leading him to the door when he saw Duke and stopped dead in his tracks, terror spiking through him. The people on the gurneys groaned and one began slowly turning to stone as the blond woman rushed from person to person, checking vitals.

"I have to…" He turned back towards the ward of the ill people.

"Duke isn't here to hurt you, Pete." Marie redoubled her thoughts of peace and serenity. "We're here to fix this."

Pete hadn't admitted it to himself but deep down he knew he was causing the contagion and Marie knew it now as well. Keeping Pete calm was the first step to dealing with the issue.

"Don't worry, Pete, I'm just here to keep an eye on Marie. I'd never traumatize her by ending a curse in front of her." Duke offered with a certain black humor. Marie shot him a dirty look and he shrugged slightly.

"Now we're _all_ going to go see this CDC doctor." Marie warned Pete and was glad she did since his terror spiked again and she had to struggle to enforce calm on him. "But first…"

Marie led Pete to chairs right outside the morgue and pulled him down to sit on one. Then she put her hands on his head, right at the temples.

"Wh- what are you doing?" Pete stuttered. Duke gave him a smile that was meant to be reassuring but led to another spike of fear that Marie had to soothe. She had her eyes closed as she concentrated.

It felt like she was swimming through a crowded ocean in a hurricane. Pete's mind was roiling with fear and insecurities and phobias. She wanted to slap whoever had put this man in charge of the ill since it was obviously exacerbating his issues. The man was clearly unable to deal with people in any fashion at all and yet he'd been put in charge of a hidden ward full of desperately ill troubled people. Slowly she managed to smooth the spikes of his fears, soften the phobias and even ease some of his insecurities. When she felt she'd accomplished what she could, she pulled back. Pete was smiling gently.

"Thank you." He told her, amazement on his face. "I don't know when I've felt so well."

"We still need to go see this CDC doctor." Marie warned him, bracing to impose calm on him again.

"Yes, let's. I want to tell her a thing or two."

Marie decided anger was certainly preferable to fear and the unlikely trio traipsed through the hallways of Haven Memorial to the lab where a tall, slender brunette woman in a lab coat was busily writing in a notebook.

"Mr. Pelek? What brings you to my lab?" She asked curiously.

"You're the CDC person?" Marie asked releasing Pete's hand and going over to Charlotte. She slowly placed her hand on Charlotte's, grateful that she looked like a harmless child. Charlotte allowed the contact, although she was clearly confused.

Charlotte's mind was orderly. She was worried and heartsick about her daughter – Marie blinked when she realized that was Mara – but her thoughts were carefully regulated and compartmentalized. And she wasn't a CDC doctor. She wasn't even from this world. Marie glared at her angrily.

"Tell him who you _really_ are." She ordered the woman.

"I don't know what –"

"Tell him or I start telling people for you. _You_ killed Mr. Banks by triggering poor Pete's trouble with your lies. _Tell_ him!"

"Who _are_ you?" Charlotte asked her instead.

"Pete, she's not CDC." Marie turned and faced the nervous man. "No tanks are rolling in. She doesn't want the world to know about the troubles either. We're still safe."

"We are?" Pete sagged against the wall, a few tears of relief slipping from his eyes as the terror driving his trouble dissipated. All around Haven people began to recover from the mystery illness.

"Go on, Pete, go check on your patients. They're going to be fine now. And when this is over, look me up – I think I can help you more." Marie told him. Charlotte continued to stare at this strange little girl who ordered grown men and women around like a drill sergeant.

"You're troubled." Charlotte reasoned. "You can make people do what you say?"

"You didn't do what I told you to." Marie countered.

"I'm immune."

Marie grinned at that admission – she knew Charlotte had been keeping that information to herself. Duke's gaze sharpened, he was keenly aware that this had implications.

"You aren't immune to me – or him." Marie hadn't realized she'd picked that up from Mara's mind until just now. Duke was susceptible to troubles Mara and William had created but if Mara had been able to act on her plan to make him give those troubles out he would have been immune to the troubles he gave out but neither Mara nor her mother would have shared that immunity.

"I read minds, Charlotte, and I know where your daughter is." Marie said smugly. "But I don't see any reason to help the woman who ignored all the harm the troubles _her daughter_ created have done to these people and this world."

Duke inhaled sharply, straightening up from his pose against the wall by the door. He knew what Marie was talking about. He knew _who_ Marie was talking about.

"Just what is going on here?" Dwight's angry voice came from the doorway. "Duke, what are you doing here? And who is this kid?"

"I'm not a kid." Marie told him, giving him a sympathetic look because she could feel his attraction for the woman beside her and she knew the truth was going to hurt him. "I just look the way I did back when Duke and I first met. I'm Marie Bauer and I'm Duke's friend."

"Duke, shouldn't you be on your boat?" Dwight demanded.

"I thought you'd like to have your illness trouble dealt with." Duke answered blandly. "And my friend Marie was kind enough to agree to help."

Marie climbed up on a tall bar stool sitting in front of Charlotte's lab table, hoping the extra height would make her seem slightly more formidable.

"I think Charlotte has something she wants to tell you." Marie's bland was the equal of Duke's. Charlotte looked trapped.

"Look, she's trying to help us!" Dwight snapped. "Why don't you cut her some slack?"

"Because I've read her mind." Marie countered calmly. Dwight looked shocked and looked at Charlotte for answers.

"Dwight," Nathan's voice came from the hallway, "I've figured out who is causing the contagion."

"Pete's fine now." Marie called to him. "At least until I can get back to him and reinforce the work I did on his mind."

Dwight moved to one side of the door and Nathan entered, giving a start of surprise when he saw Duke and Marie.

"Duke? What are you doing here? And who is this?"

"Where's Audrey?" Duke asked him instead of answering.

"I'm here. I thought I'd come see the doctor while Nathan dealt with the source of the illness." Audrey stepped into the room which was starting to feel a little crowded. Marie was instantly drawn to her. Her face was pale with dark circles under her eyes and slightly shrunken cheeks. She coughed, a hacking, horrible sound. Marie slid off the chair and went to her, touching her hand gently.

"Duke." Marie said, wincing as the chaos tearing Audrey apart on the cellular level tore through her psyche like a the high-pitched squeal of rending metal. "Take my hand."

She clasped the hand she was touching and then held out her free hand behind her. Duke took her hand without hesitation and suddenly Marie felt like she was riding a tornado - possibly one with rattlesnakes. Energy roared through her and she poured it into the blond woman, stabilizing her cells and giving them a foundation in reality they'd been lacking. Audrey was rigid, her eyes wide as the energy poured into her. Nathan started to interfere, afraid that Audrey was being hurt but Dwight stopped him.

"You might hurt her." He said. "She's breathing and she doesn't seem to be in pain and they said they helped Pete. Maybe they can help her too."

"I thought her trouble was reading minds." Charlotte protested quietly but she was too busy staring hungrily at the face before her to spend much energy on that concern.

Audrey gasped suddenly and Marie released her hand and stepped back, staggering slightly. Duke swept her into his arms instantly and she didn't protest, just rested her head on his shoulder.

"You didn't quite get her right." She murmured to him. "I _think_ I fixed it."

"Fixed what?" Charlotte asked, her tone worried.

"Her. She's not -" Marie cut off what she was going to say. It was just too cruel to Audrey to say it.

"Duke, what the hell is going on?" Nathan demanded as soon as Audrey confirmed to him that she was all right, and actually feeling somewhat stronger.

Duke sighed and set Marie back on the tall chair. She sat up straight, beginning to regain her energy.

"Apparently I released a trouble last night in my sleep." He said to his fascinated audience. "I was dreaming about the foster family I'd been placed with after my father died - where I stayed until my mother showed up to claim me."

Nathan nodded, remembering that time even though he didn't know where it was that Duke had disappeared to.

"I met Marie there. She was four years older than me and she showed me the ropes, watched my back when the son of the house tried to bully me, and generally appointed herself my guardian."

"There was mutual guardianship." Marie put in wryly. "Duke slept on the floor by my bed every night until his mother took him away. Papa Lawson was a pedophile."

Audrey's lips tightened with anger, Charlotte looked faintly sick, Nathan and Dwight were disgusted.

"We bonded during that two month period." Duke explained. "And even though we never saw each other again, I never forgot her. Apparently I decided she could help me again. She appeared on the deck of the Rouge in the early hours of this morning, naked as a jaybird and looking just like she did the last time I saw her. Only she can do things now..."

"I thought I could just sense emotions and read minds." Marie took up the explanation. "But I was always sensitive to the emotions of people around me. I just thought I was good at reading body language - now I wonder if it was a little more than that. I helped Pete - smoothed his fears until I could get Charlotte to admit she isn't CDC at all."

Three pairs of eyes turned to Charlotte with suspicion, curiosity, and a mute appeal for refutation of that claim, depending on the owner of the eyes. Charlotte looked guilty.

"She's from the same place as Mara. She's Mara's mother." Marie continued, pushing down the sympathy she felt for Charlotte's growing dismay. The woman shouldn't have lied.

"So what was that with me?" Audrey asked. Already her color had improved and she hadn't coughed since Marie's... whatever it had been.

"I fixed you, I think. I needed something from Duke because he made you in the first place. Don't ask me what because I'm flying on instinct and wild guesses." Marie answered with obvious honesty.

"So what am I now?" Audrey wondered. "Can you feel me now, Nathan?" She asked, taking his hand. Nathan smiled tenderly but shook his head.

"Let me see." Marie slid off the stool and went to take Nathan's hand. Duke half raised a hand to stop her but let it drop. She was going to do what she was going to do.

Maria stood, holding Nathan's hand and staring blankly at the floor for several long moments.

"I can't do anything yet but I can if I have Mara to touch. I can fix your trouble." She announced with utter certainty. She turned to Duke and continued. "Now I feel like I need an ice cream or something. You never even fed me breakfast." She frowned sternly at Duke. "If I have to go through puberty again the least you can do is feed me." Then she spoiled the effect with with an impish grin. Duke's lips twitched as he repressed an answering smile.

"Oh," Marie looked at Audrey who was looking a little forlorn, "you're a person, Audrey. You're a normal, healthy, completely human being. Congratulations."

"So, Charlotte, I guess you have some explaining to do." Dwight said with the anger only hurt can bring.

"She's looking for her daughter. She's also genuinely researching the troubles. She doesn't think she can cure them, though." Marie said quietly. "And I think it's time for me to go now."

She tugged Duke out of the room, leaving the two couples to work matters out on their own. There were some matters that needed to be fixed by the participants, after all, and she was hungry.

"So what are you planning on feeding me? I'm starving." She asked Duke as they made their way out of the hospital. Duke surprised himself with a short laugh. He hadn't smiled so much since Jennifer's death. It felt - good.

"Why don't we stop at the Black House Coffee Shop? I'll get you some cocoa and a muffin. Then we'll get you some clothing and you can hang out at the Gull while I take care of some business."

"I guess that will do for now. I don't plan on being twelve for much longer, though." Marie warned him. "The novelty wore off before this adventure even started."

"Duly noted. And I apologize for youthenizing you. I promise, it wasn't on purpose."

On that note he started his jeep and pulled out of the hospital's parking lot. He felt rushed, as if they'd averted an avalanche but now another disaster was sweeping down on them.


	3. Transformations

Marie kicked her heels against the tall stool she sat on and twirled the umbrella in her alcohol free strawberry daiquiri. Duke had fed her a taco salad and she'd watched as he had settled various issues that needed addressing. He was a very competent businessman, which didn't surprise Marie at all. Even as a young boy Duke had been disciplined and so smart it was a little scary. He'd had a chip on his shoulder a mile wide, but who hadn't in that place?

Duke finished up what needed doing, grabbed a bag of tacos to bring back to Mara, and motioned Marie towards the door with a nod of his head. She slipped out of the bar stool and headed out, ignoring the various teasing comments Duke was getting about "babysitting" and "fatherhood". Outside Marie hopped up on the hood of his jeep and watched the sailboats skimming through the water in the bay. She loved the water. She loved the smell of the salt air and the sound of the waves and the call of the birds.

"So, ready to head out?" He asked her as he approached the jeep.

"Duke, tell me about Mara." She said instead of answering, although she did jump down from the jeep and climb into the passenger side.

"I don't know much about her." Duke told her. "She and a guy named William created the troubles and gave them to people. They got caught by their people and William was banished to this place called the Void, which is in between their world and ours, and Mara got put into something we call the Barn, but it was much more than a barn. There was a guy who ran it – we knew him as Agent Howard – and Mara got a new personality every 27 years. And she'd get sent here to Haven, where a lot of the troubled live, and she'd help the troubled and then she'd go back into the Barn and the troubles would go away until the next cycle."

"Why would she create the troubles? Why hurt us? And why did this William person help her?"

"I don't know, I think she likes it, and I don't know but he probably likes hurting people too. He troubled a baby – an infant! – just to make Audrey give people troubles to solve the problem the baby's trouble was causing."

"That's what happened to make you get your trouble back, isn't it? And Audrey? She was this cycle's personality?"

"Yeah. She and Nathan are a couple. He wasn't willing to let her go without a fight. He shot Agent Howard and the Barn imploded." Duke explained.

"So the troubles didn't end this time?"

"No. They're worse than ever and a lot of people are losing their minds about it. They're so desperate for the troubles to be over they're doing crazy things."

"Like activating your brother's trouble." Marie guessed.

"Yeah. He killed her – the woman who activated the Crocker Curse in him."

"Not everyone is as disciplined as you, Duke. I imagine he got hooked on the power and the "high" immediately."

"Pretty damn fast, yeah. If I'd just gotten him to leave town…"

"Still not your fault, your Dukeness." Maria said firmly. "He was a grown man, am I right? He made his choices and that foolish woman made hers. You did the best you could with a shitty hand."

"I don't have to feel good about it." Duke countered stiffly.

"You wouldn't be the brother I chose if you did feel good about it. In fact, if you felt good about it you would be _your_ brother – not the wonderful guy I know."

They rode in silence for a bit as Marie considered the problem of Mara.

"Duke, I need to try and heal her." She said finally.

"You think you can heal a psychopath?" He questioned with a world of doubt in his voice.

"I don't think she was always a psychopath." Marie mused. "And I think I have to try. I need her to work with these troubles but the way she is now it would create more harm than good. I need to know why she did this in the first place. There's something else going on, Duke, I can feel it."

"Mara is the closest thing I've ever seen to pure evil." Duke told Marie with worry in his voice. "I want to be there – and I want you to be _very_ careful."

"I want Charlotte to be there too." Once again, Marie was acting on instinct. Charlotte was Mara's mother. The two of them together could only help Marie figure out the right course of action.

"I'll call Nathan." Duke promised. "When do you want to do this?"

"Tomorrow? Early?" Marie suggested hesitantly. "I want to be fully rested but I don't want to wait too long. I don't know what's wrong but I feel an impending sense of doom."

"Mara can certainly inspire that feeling."

"It's not her – it's something else." Marie shrank in on herself, feeling as vulnerable and powerless as she had when she was as young as she now appeared.

"You think there's something _worse_ than Mara?" Duke groaned. "This town just can't catch a break, can it?"

"I think it already has." Marie made herself sit up and look confident for Duke's sake. "It has you and you brought me here to fix this place."

"I hope you're right." Duke muttered. "My track record to date is –"

"— pretty damn good." Marie cut him off. "You brought back Audrey for your friend Nathan."

"And she almost died."

"You saved all the people who would have been hurt by that baby's trouble."

"By killing his father."

"Knock it off, Duke!" Marie snapped. "I can't do this without you so quit beating yourself up. You didn't bring me here to fail and I don't _intend_ to fail so start looking at solutions!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Duke said briskly, albeit with a strong undertone of mockery. But he did straighten and seem a bit more focused. Marie smiled to herself – he'd been prone to depression and introspection back then too and occasionally she'd had to deliver a verbal kick to his pants.

On the Rouge Marie accompanied Duke when he delivered Mara's lunch. Mara didn't say much but the way she kept watching Marie was a bit creepy. Marie responded by reaching for the woman's thoughts. She could just barely sense them. Mara was disturbed by Marie. She felt threatened and wanted to eliminate Marie but she also wanted to understand her. Marie's presence meant something important about Duke, but try as she might Marie couldn't pick up from Mara's mind what that important discovery was. She sensed that touching Mara right now would probably be a bad idea so she resigned herself to not knowing until tomorrow.

"Your Mom is in town." Marie offered suddenly, as Duke was setting out the tacos. Emotion flared beneath Mara's angry exterior. Fury, but that was nothing new, a sense of betrayal, and a firmly suppressed exaltation that her mother still cared enough to show up.

"Keep that bitch away from me." Mara snarled.

"For now." Marie smiled but that smile vanished as Mara made her move.

Duke was bent over, placing food on the wooden box Mara used as a table, when Mara brought her elbow down on the back of his head, stunning him. The tacos and boxes went flying as she spun him around and held him before her with her arm around his neck and a slender piece of sharpened metal in her hand.

"Keys!" Mara barked.

"I didn't bring them with me." Duke choked out from behind the pressure of that arm on his windpipe.

"So send the brat to fetch them."

"I don't know where they are." Marie answered truthfully. Blood welled from Duke's jugular as the improvised knife cut into his skin.

"Find them!"

"Mara, I don't know where to look!" Marie widened her eyes and held her breath, willing tears to well up. She did everything in her power to appear a frightened, helpless child. Mara knew she was more but what the eyes tell a person is usually more powerful than anything else and Marie was desperate to buy some time. Duke clearly would rather die than let her free and that was good enough for Marie.

"Fine, if I can't make use of you, Duke, then I'll just spill your troubles once and for all."

The knife plunged and Duke sank to the floor at her feet as blood spurted from the vein. Marie threw herself at Duke and Mara smiled triumphantly.

"Hang on, Duke!" Marie urged, placing one hand over his and the other on Mara's bare foot.

"What are you?!" Mara got that much out before Marie locked her muscles, imprisoning her more effectively than any chain.

"If he dies," Marie said with a quiet intensity that was more threatening than a shout, "you do too. Slowly. And painfully."

Mara's eyes widened and she struggled to breathe against the paralysis. Marie pulled energy from Mara and poured it into Duke, ignoring the pain that flared inside of her as his blood saturated her skin. She felt the influx of energy from Mara and from that blood but was unaware that her eyes had turned as silver as any Crocker's in the presence of troubled blood. Under her hands the pulse of blood slowed and the pool of blood that had formed under Duke soaked back into his skin. Around them the Rouge began to transform, rust fading into new metal. Mara began to shrink and become younger as Marie aged rapidly into her late teens, her clothing just barely stretching to cover her expanded flesh. Duke inhaled suddenly and sat up, knocking the improvised knife from Mara's hand and pushing him and Marie out of reach.

"Who are you?!" Mara cried fearfully. "Where's my Mom?"

"Let me touch her!" Marie demanded as Duke held her back. "If she doesn't remember then we need to release her and get Charlotte here!"

Duke pulled his hands away from Marie reluctantly and she hurried to the newly youthenized Mara, grabbing her hands gently.

"Hey, it's okay." She told the girl as she searched her mind for any sign of the monster Mara had become. "You've been – sick. We had to restrain you for your own safety. What do you remember?"

"Daddy said he was going to make me better." Mara sniffed, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"How do you feel now?"

"I don't feel sick anymore." Mara admitted.

"Okay, we're going to call your Mom right now."

Duke was already on the phone with Dwight and when he finished he pulled out the keys to the manacle around her ankle.

"Are you sure?" He asked Marie.

"No memories of anything before this illness she spoke of." Marie assured him. "Let her go. We'll figure out the rest later."

"I want to go home." Mara sobbed.

"Your mother will be here soon." Duke soothed her instinctively. "Let's go above and have some cocoa, okay?"

"I have some clothes that will fit you better." Marie offered, thinking of the outfits Duke had just bought her. "And I should get changed as well." She added, looking down at the flesh exposed by her too-small clothing.

"Grab some of the clothes down here – they should fit you now." Duke suggested. "And may I say that you grew up quite nicely."

Marie tried to shoot him a dirty look but had to grin. She'd had similar thoughts about him, after all.

Very shortly she and Mara were changed and sitting with Duke at the booth table in his galley sipping cocoa. The mirror had confirmed to Mara that she was around the age of 16, not where she wanted to be but far better than 12. Mara, however, looked to be 10 or 12. The cocoa was doing wonders to soothe Mara's fear and the clothes Duke had purchased for Marie fit Mara's new form perfectly. Just jeans and a purple t-shirt but Mara seemed happy with them.

"Mara?!" Charlotte's shocked voice came from the entryway. Mara flew from the booth into her mother's arms and Charlotte's eyes filled with tears. She clutched her daughter murmuring endearments.

"What the –" Dwight cut his words off and started over. "Duke, what's going on here?" He asked in his best "I'm being reasonable" voice.

"Well…" Duke drawled slowly, still not sure himself what happened.

"She cut him and it released a trouble and now the Rouge and Mara are new again and I got to fast forward through puberty." Marie offered with dark humor and a sardonic smile.

"And what do we do when she goes back to normal?"

"I'm not sure she can." Marie explained. "I checked her mind – there are no memories of anything except her childhood. She's really twelve again."

"Thank you!" Charlotte sniffed, trying to dash tears from her eyes but they just kept filling up again. "Thank you for bringing my daughter back to me."

"I still need her help." Marie told them all. "She's connected to the troubles she created and I need her."

"I have to take her home." Charlotte protested. "She doesn't know Haven anymore."

"Charlotte, you can't take her home until the troubles have been fixed. You owe us that." Dwight argued. Marie felt the spike of pain in him that she'd leave him so easily but said nothing. There was nothing to be said, really.

"And something is still very wrong." Marie said quietly. "I don't know what but I feel it. It's like the pressure in the air before a nor'easter, you know?"

"Great – more problems." Dwight sighed.

"Dwight, take Charlotte and Mara someplace safe, okay? And everyone rest because tomorrow we need to get a handle on the troubles once and for all. Maybe then I can figure out what it is I sense looming over us." Marie suggested. She noticed with relief that her still young but closer to mature form encouraged more respect for her words. Dwight didn't look happy, nor did Charlotte, but they nodded their unwilling agreement. Marie stifled a sigh of relief as they turned and left Duke's boat.

"What exactly happened down there?" Duke asked when they were alone again.

"She cut you. You bled all over the floor, and me. I was able to heal your cut and I think I did something else to you too but I'm not sure what. I was touching Mara at the time. It all happened so fast…"

Duke grabbed her hands from across the table.

"It's okay, we're both fine and we'll work it out – right?" He reassured her. She smiled back but she was tired after the adrenaline rush of the crisis and she was worried about whatever it was that kept pressing on the edge of her awareness.

It was a malice, similar to Mara's but unleavened by the twisted affection that had driven her actions. Something threatened Haven – something threatened the man she'd adopted as a younger brother many years ago. Duke had meant so much to her – his gratitude for the little help she had given him, his determined protection of her, it had given her the strength to stand up for herself.

When the man who had picked her up hitchhiking had assaulted her and revealed his plan to prostitute her in Boston Marie found the strength to fight back just remembering Duke's fierce loyalty to her. She had waited until the man's guard was down and killed him with his own handgun. That landed her in juvvie when she refused to tell anyone more than her first name. The Lawsons hadn't reported her missing until long after her trial and sentencing and no one had put Marie "Doe" together with missing Marie Bauer from Haven. But through all her trials and ordeals she would rub the scar on her right wrist and remember the angry, protective young man that had guarded her sleep and threatened to stab Mr. Lawson if he touched her again and she could go on.

Marie had lied to Duke about never looking him up. She'd arranged to have the Haven Herald mailed to her as soon as she had settled in California. She'd searched the internet for any news of Haven and kept track of everything that popped up about Duke, from his brushes with the law to his occasional recorded acts of heroism. She'd just been afraid to go back to Haven and face him – afraid that he didn't remember her the way she remembered him. Waking up on the deck of his boat had been a dream come true for her, troubles or no troubles, because it showed her that he remembered her as fondly as she did him.

"Why don't you rest while I tidy the place a bit?" Duke suggested.

Marie was just weary enough that she agreed with him. He pointed her to his spare room and she plopped on the unmade bed and slipped into sleep almost immediately. Duke waited until he was sure she was deeply asleep and then took off to meet with Nathan and Audrey at the Gull. He wanted to make sure Audrey was okay and he wanted to talk to his best friends about Marie's fears. And he wanted to do it without aggravating Marie's concerns so he was doing it behind her back.

His hand absently rubbed the thin scar on his left wrist as he entered the Gull, a habit he wasn't even aware of. Until she had appeared on the deck of the Rouge Duke hadn't even admitted how important Marie had been to him, not just while he'd been at the Lawson's but as someone to remember who had valued him and considered him worthy of love and support. He'd probably never say it out loud but Marie had kept him from giving in to the conviction that he was simply unlovable. He'd do a lot to keep her safe and he was hoping that Nathan and Audrey had ideas on that score.

Meanwhile, Dwight took Charlotte and Mara to his home, reasoning that it was the safest place for them. Mara, with her long blond hair and sunny personality, sent pangs through his heart for his lost Lizzie and Charlotte kept shooting him worried and guilty looks. It was going to be a long afternoon…


	4. Making Haven a Haven

Marie awakened with a start. It was dark outside but the Rouge was as silent as a vessel in a harbor could be. Waves still sloshed, rope and wood creaked, but there was nothing to indicate the presence of anyone else. She could have been alone in Haven for all the sense of life around her.

She made her way to the tiny lavatory and cleaned up. Then she quickly looked through the Rouge but she found no sign of Duke – just as she had anticipated. The tugging in her wasn't from nearby. Something was deeply wrong. Marie sighed. She hadn't even been in Haven for two days yet and it seemed she was hurtling from one near disaster to another. But if Duke was in trouble she really didn't have a choice – she had to help him.

Marie went down to Mara's cell in the hold and rummaged through the clothing there. She was tired of being cold and if she was going to run around Haven looking for Duke she was damn well going to dress for the occasion. She bundled up warmly and made her way off the Rouge and down the docks. Now she just had to figure out a way to follow the insistent pull that was Duke – Duke in trouble…

"Hey, kid!" A cop car pulled up alongside her and paced her. Marie stopped and looked at him. "What are you doing out so late at night?"

"I need to get to Duke – will you help me?" She asked simply.

"Honey, Duke doesn't want you interrupting whatever he has going on." The officer replied dismissively. Marie considered him carefully and then put her hand over the one resting on the open window of the cruiser.

The officer was tired and cranky and irritated to be pulling a graveyard shift for the third time this month. Marie firmly squashed her conscience and manipulated his mind.

"Please, sir, will you take me to my Dad? I'm afraid he's in trouble." Marie asked again, widening her eyes innocently.

"Of course!" The officer replied agreeably. "Can't have a pretty little thing like you wandering around town, now can we?"

"Oh, _thank you_!" Marie gushed, rushing around the front of the cruiser and climbing in next to the officer.

"Now, where is he?" The officer asked.

"He's at the Grey Gull." Marie lied glibly. The officer nodded and started off, unconcerned with the impropriety of taking a young teen to a bar after the bar should have been closed for business.

Marie did her best not to chew on her nails as they made the drive. She knew Duke wasn't at the Gull but she was hoping Nathan and Audrey were. She could find Duke by the mental connection she had to him but it was going to take some trial and error and a lot of cooperation from her driver. Nathan and Audrey were far better suited to that task than this poor unhappy officer.

Marie burst into the main room in the Grey Gull. The door had been ajar when she arrived so she didn't even try Audrey's apartment. Audrey and Nathan were just starting to stir and rise from the floor.

"Duke's in trouble." Marie said baldly, touching them both at the same time and sending healing energy into them. She needed them alert and capable of acting. "I need your help."

"Duke – Duke _did_ this." Audrey groaned but she sat up straighter as Marie's efforts took hold.

"It's not really him." Nathan said firmly. "He wouldn't do this to us willingly."

"It's the other one – the eviler one."

"Eviler? Is that even a word?" Audrey asked in confusion.

"We can argue vocabulary later – Duke needs us. Who is going to drive?"

"I will."

"Nathan." They answered in unison.

"C'mon." Marie helped them both to their feet and led the way to Nathan's blue Bronco. She climbed into the backseat and once again fought not to bite her nails while she waited for Audrey and Nathan to get in and settled.

"When we get there, wait outside." Marie said, pointing the direction she felt the tugging the strongest. "Something's wrong with Duke. That means he's dangerous."

"We're not letting you go into danger alone." Audrey protested.

"Duke won't hurt me." Marie assured her confidently. "Together we can deal with this other evil, now that it has come out into the open."

"If you'd asked me this morning I would have told you Duke would never hurt Audrey, but he just did." Nathan argued.

"I know he loves her but it's not the same as with me. We're –" Marie's voice trailed off. She just didn't have the words to explain the relationship between herself and Duke.

"You're what?" Audrey prompted, deeply curious about Marie's connection to Duke.

"We're closer than siblings." Marie tried to explain. "We made a promise to each other and we kept it as best we could, considering how little control we had over our lives back then. He brought me here because he trusts me. And I've never betrayed that trust – not willingly, at least."

Audrey looked guilty. Marie knew that there was something painful between her and Duke but not what. She didn't much care. But she knew that there was no such pain and no guilt between her and Duke. No evil creature was going to break the bond between them. She loved him and she knew he loved her even if it wasn't in a "let's get married and have kids" sort of way but more of a "brothers to the end" thing.

The streets of Haven were virtually deserted this time of night and once Nathan got an idea of where Marie kept pointing he was able to narrow down the area. But it still took longer than Marie felt she could tolerate as they had to circle around and around, narrowing the circle every time.

They didn't know it but their target was a cozy three bedroom ranch house where Dwight was regaining consciousness to find himself securely tied to a chair. Charlotte sat next to him with a frightened Mara in her lap.

"It's okay, honey." Their captor crooned to the little girl. "We'll have you fixed up in no time just as soon as Duke's friend gets here."

"Mommy? Where's Daddy?" Mara whimpered.

"It's okay, Dove." Charlotte soothed her daughter. "It's going to be okay." She was terribly afraid she was lying but what else could she do?

"Please," she added to the man holding a gun on them, "please, you're frightening her."

"She'll understand as soon as we undo what was done to her."

"No! Please!" Charlotte's grip on her daughter tightened. "She's been given a second chance! Don't take that away from her."

"She's been stripped of what made her so strong and special. I won't have that – not for my Dove."

Charlotte gasped and her face paled further and Mara squirmed as Charlotte's grip grew even tighter.

"You! But you're dead! That creature killed you."

"That "creature" is me, my dear." He sneered. "And we've got business to finish today. Duke, take my daughter into the back – she doesn't need to see this."

"Mommy!" Mara cried as Duke obediently plucked her from Charlotte's arms and headed into the kitchen in the back of the house, indifferent Mara's struggles and cries for her mother.

"What are you doing?!" Dwight shouted and Charlotte screamed.

Mara cried out, seeing her father's actions over Duke's shoulder as he walked steadily away, ignoring the sounds of a long knife being driven into Charlotte's slender body over and over again. Mara, terrified and heartbroken at the loss of her mother, tucked her head onto Duke's shoulder and wept brokenheartedly. Somewhere deep inside Duke felt an answering grief and a trickle of shame.

"Charlotte! Damn you, Dave! What did you do that for?" Dwight demanded, his anger at Charlotte's deception eliminated by the horror of her lifeless body lying in a pool of blood in front of him

"Dave's not here now, you poor dumb moose. Always the last to know, aren't you?"

"Duke!" Marie burst into the house, followed by Nathan and Audrey.

"Ahh, the gang's all here."

"Dave?" Nathan asked in confusion.

"He's in here somewhere." The man agreed. "Now make yourself useful, copy of my daughter, and keep her company in the kitchen while I decide whether or not to kill you. Your none-too-bright police officers are dead regardless, but if you behave yourself I might let you live. You didn't ask to be my daughter's clone."

"Nathan, drop your gun – it's red hot." Audrey gasped, dropping her gun as she spoke. Nathan obeyed and Dave held his hand out towards Nathan, finger pointing. What looked like black smoke began pouring from his eyes and mouth.

"No!" Audrey cried, throwing herself in front of Nathan. "Don't hurt him."

"Nothing personal, sweetheart, I need his aether. Red, make her go in the kitchen – now."

His other hand pointed at Marie and a thread of black smoke swirled around her face and then vanished as she drew in a deep breath. Her eyes darkened to black for a moment and then she turned, her face devoid of expression, and placed her hand on Audrey's face.

 _"Do what he says."_ Audrey heard, even though Marie's lips never moved. _"I have a plan. I will save Nathan or die trying."_ She promised Audrey silently. Tears spilled down Audrey's cheeks as Nathan dropped bonelessly to the floor and lay there motionless. She stumbled towards the kitchen.

"Duke, return. You and Red are needed." The creature in Dave turned his attention to Dwight and by the time Duke had returned to stand by Marie, Dwight was slumped in the chair, no longer breathing.

"Now my children, you will create a form for me, just as you did with that poor imitation of my daughter."

Marie's hand slipped over Duke's shoulder.

 _"Duke? Duke, can you hear me?"_

His mind was engulfed in black smoke as Marie probed for her friend – her brother. She couldn't battle the smoke – that would alert the monster. She slid through it like a minnow through currents and finally she found the core of Duke's personality, curled in on itself and all but crushed under the negative pressure of the black smoke.

 _"Duke? I'm here. Talk to me, Duke!"_

 _"Go away. It's useless. I'm cursed. Anything I do –"_

 _"Snap out of it, Duke! We're in danger and we need to deal with this monster now!"_

Back in reality Duke drew his pocket knife and cut his hand, allowing the blood to drip onto the floor.

 _"Please, Duke! He'll kill me when he figures out I'm not under his control!"_ Marie pleaded. _"We have to deal with him now."_

 _"Marie?"_ Slowly Duke unfolded from his hunched position. He and Marie looked like their 8 and 12 year old selves. _"What are you doing here?"_

 _"Helping my brother, silly. Now, while you activate the trouble that split Mara and Audrey, concentrate on making this split fully human – we don't want him to be able to control aether anymore. Do you understand?"_

 _"No. We can't fight him. He's too strong."_

 _"You fought Papa Lawson for me, Duke, you can fight this creature. Together we're stronger than anyone!"_

Eight year old Duke wavered like a mirage and then Duke was himself again. Fury flared in his eyes but it wasn't directed at Marie. Before Croatoan realized his puppet was free Duke released the trouble at him. Dave dropped like a stone and beside him appeared another person. Marie caught the trouble Duke was releasing and rode with it, modifying the human Duke was willing into existence. At the same time she was siphoning the aether that Croatoan had stolen and feeding the energy she turned it into to the three people in the house – three people and one more. Far out to sea a shrouded form began rising to the surface, its shroud dissolving into the green energy surrounding it. Charlotte, Dwight and Nathan all twitched.

"No!" Croatoan shouted from his new form – which was regressing in age. "I won't let you!"

He released one last trouble – a "mirror" trouble – on Marie. Anything that happened to him would happen to her. It was a refined version of the trouble that had linked Mara and William so many years ago.

"Marie, stop!" Duke cried out as she began growing younger.

"No!" She snarled fiercely. "I won't let him escape to hurt anyone else."

She looked up at Duke, who now towered above her as she continued to direct the healing energy to her targets and to regress Croatoan.

"Just give me a better childhood this time, okay?" She smiled sadly at Duke and a moment later she was an infant and Croatoan was a toddler, both of them wailing their distress at this turn of events.

"What?!" Audrey gasped, rushing from the kitchen with Mara's hand clasped in hers at the sound of angry sobbing.

Mara rushed to her mother, crying hysterically now. Audrey raced to Nathan, just sitting up. Duke ignored Dwight's demands for release and gently picked up the infant beside him, wrapping her in the t-shirt Marie had been wearing.

"I promise, Marie, you'll have the best childhood ever." He kissed the coppery fuzz covering her head. Her wails subsided as he cuddled her to his chest.

Nathan picked up the knife Duke had dropped and cut Dwight free. Charlotte made herself look at the other baby, howling with anger now.

"He's human," Duke said, his voice a little hoarse. "Marie wanted to be sure he'd never hurt anyone again.

"Is that…?" Dwight nodded at the baby in Duke's arms.

"Yeah, his last act of malice." Duke said. "But she didn't let it stop her."

Dave sat up, staring at the crying infant next to him in utter confusion.

"What happened?"

EPILOGUE

A week later Duke entered the Gull, baby Marie in her carrier, and began organizing the various pre-opening tasks that he saw to every morning. He had been allowed to adopt Marie – it was crystal clear that he wasn't going to let her out of his care so Audrey and Nathan and Vince and Dave had pulled strings to make it happen. Everyone except Gloria was astonished at how easily Duke took to fatherhood. He was a natural and Marie was clearly thriving. The only hard part for him was dismantling his less than legal pursuits. A few of his former business contacts had needed convincing to accept that the pirate had turned over a new leaf. One of them had needed hospitalization afterwards but that seemed to convince the others that Duke was serious.

So now he had a schedule and there was a playpen in his office at the Gull. The Rouge had a new captain and hauled legal cargo, although it was still Duke's boat. Audrey and Nathan lived together in Nathan's house and Duke and Marie were currently in the apartment over the Gull, but Duke was looking for a house for them. To the surprise of everyone, Dave and Vince had decided to adopt the infant Croatoan – who they named Charles after their father. Life in Haven was approaching normal and there was hope for a trouble-free future.

Dwight and Nathan were busy searching for William's aether stash so that young Mara could create an aether core for a new barn. Charlotte had already gone through the Void to retrieve the control crystal of the old barn and she and Howard were hard at work pounding out the details of how the new barn would end the troubles once and for all. Dwight and Charlotte were a pair – she'd announced her intention to raise Mara in Haven with the hope that she'd turn out differently this time. Healing was taking hold all over Haven.

"Excuse me?" A vaguely familiar voice came from the door.

"We aren't open for another few hours." Duke said automatically, his attention on the employee schedule he was working on.

"Duke?" The voice came again, the diffident note of entreaty sparking memories of –

Duke looked up and his breath caught. Standing in the doorway, wearing baggy jeans and a pullover that swamped her, was Jennifer – alive and healthy and…

"Jen?!" Duke swayed and had to clutch the counter.

"Hi, Duke." She gave a little wave and smile hesitantly. Duke's legs steadied and he walked with careful steps around the counter.

"H- how?" Carefully, as if she were a soap bubble that would burst from too much pressure, he poked her shoulder. Her smile grew steadier.

"I don't know. Suddenly I was just choking a lungful of water in what looked like the middle of the ocean one night. But there was a fishing trawler close enough that the night crew heard my shouts for help. We just got in today."

"That crazy girl did it!" Duke swept Jennifer into his arms, hugging her so tightly she was a little afraid she'd break. "She brought you back to me."

That crazy girl chose that moment to wake up and protest her wet diaper. Duke, torn between the two women he loved, wavered for a moment and then went over to lift Marie out of her carrier. Jennifer watched with surprise at the presence of the baby, but indulgent pride at Duke's competency, as he deftly changed Marie and then brought her over to Jennifer.

"I adopted her." He told Jennifer baldly. "It's a long story but she's mine now."

"I want to hear it." Jennifer assured Duke. "But first, what's her name?"

"Marie." Duke answered, giving the baby a tender look that made Jennifer's breath catch. "She kind of saved us all."

"So, how about I get us some breakfast and we'll catch each other up?" He suggested hopefully – wondering if the presence of an infant was going to scare Jennifer off.

"I'd love that." She answered simply. "It's so good to be home."

Duke slipped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her close and she reciprocated, carefully reaching her arm around Marie. His fascinated cook elected to keep the news that their no-nonsense boss could cry like a baby to herself and decided this was the perfect time to inventory the freezer. By the time she returned to the front of the Gull the three were gone and Duke had left a note by the unfinished schedule that he'd be gone the rest of the day. His cook smiled – Duke was good people and it was past time something good came his way. She began setting up for the lunch rush, making sure that the staff trickling in knew that the boss had today off and that they were going to make sure the Gull ran like clockwork in his absence.

Somehow Haven's name never seemed more appropriate.


End file.
